Quoted from HereToStay:I really think GSPF should rethink their policy about bringing games. I could bring one, but it feels insulting that I would end up making at least one, probably two extra two-hour round trip drives, spend time breaking down, loading, unloading, setting up, risk damage to my machine and still have to wait in line and pay admission to the show. Bringing one game equals at least seven hours of my time. The last time I brought one, it got damaged (one major mechanical breakdown from being played almost 300 times over the weekend and a bunch of heavy scratches in the playfield glass which necessitated replacement). I understand the physical risks associated with bringing games and am willing to accept that for the greater good of the festival. I am no longer willing to accept having to then go wait in line and pay to attend the festival like anybody else who did nothing to help.
Ditto for the volunteer shifts. I’d sign up for one but my life does not afford the luxury of donating more than one shift. Again, a single shift also includes a two hour drive and unpaid time off work. And guess what? Yep, I’d still have to go wait in line and pay to attend like anybody else who did nothing. Did that a couple times. Considering this is a charity event, I really think you guys could be more generous with your volunteers. One game or one shift should really be sufficient to earn yourself a wristband for the weekend or at least for a single day of your choice.
Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the immense amount of work that the organizers put in. I am grateful to have not one but two great pinball festivals in Northern California. I’m glad to see the festival continuing, but I’ll need to see a change in policy before bringing a game or volunteering again.
As someone who has donated hundreds and hundreds of hours of my free time to the show this post can’t help but feel like sour grapes. I’m not even on the high end as I know people that have put in THOUSANDS of hours of their time into the show over the years. People that take an entire week off from work to set up and break down the show. It’s not something that just gets worked on a few weeks before the show but practically year round. Every single person that works on this show is a volunteer. We all have jobs. Families. At times it can be enormously stressful, you wouldn’t believe the amount of emails I had to go back and forth with a company just to order lanyards to give to people for bringing their games. I wanted to tear my hair out.
Why do I do it? For the love of the game, wanting others to have the best time possible. For the friendship and camaraderie I have found with others. I have made some of the best friends of my life volunteering for this show and that to me is more valuable than any wristband. We literally cannot make the show happen without our volunteers and I am beyond grateful for every last one of them, wether it be someone that shows up a couple hours early to wipe down glass, or be it someone that builds and maintains our website out of the goodness of their heart, I value every last one of them.
Volunteering should never be about a reward other than the reward of new skills learned and the self satisfaction of a job well done.
El Cerrito, CA
